


Indigo

by brunchywrites



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Civilian Barry Allen, Hal's fucked up man yoooo, Indigo Hal, Indigo Tribe, M/M, Might expand on later, POV Barry Allen, Ring Games, but not really, small idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 23:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15205571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brunchywrites/pseuds/brunchywrites
Summary: Barry wasn't ready for the corps to dump such a test on his boyfriend, he thought it was impossible, really. I mean what did they expect? Giving Hal different rings to test his endurance over the course of a few months? Did they really not think of the strain it would have on his other relationships?Clearly not.





	Indigo

Barry was sick and tired of the changing rings game that the corps were putting Hal through. He was genuinely so sick and tired of it and he was getting more and more frustrated the longer it lasted. He wanted his boyfriend back, not the skewed version that came with overwhelming emotions and new side effects every time.

It was called a test, but in Barry’s eyes, it just felt like a little game. He thought it was messed up that the Lantern Corps wanted to see what emotional spectrums Hal could handle without succumbing. It was fucked up, at least to him it was. But because it was Hal.. he took the challenge through and through.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’ve put on other rings before. I’ll be able to handle it, and if you ever wanna leave while this is happening uh- Carol offered you her place.”

Carol was too kind to offer that kind of help to Barry, but he was also stubborn, and he wasn’t going to leave his boyfriend alone during this.

Besides, his predictions were right, and he wanted to rub it in Hal’s face when he got back to normal. Some emotional spectrums Hal barely handled at all, specifically red- Hal barely handled that. It was scary, in all retrospect, it was terrifying seeing a Hal full of nothing but anger. The cleanup was bad too, and he almost lost his cool on Hal. He was glad when it was over.

Orange came with newer issues too, a sense of want for everything but at the same time asking the smallest questions. Barry recalled orange as one of the fondest, he did just about everything Barry asked and only for the sake of being able to call Barry it was weird... But sweet in its own parasitic way.

Yellow was the most Hal that wasn’t actually Hal. He had control of the ring, and of how it made him feel. Yellow was the color of fear and Hal handled it with grace and control like something Barry hadn’t seen thus far.

“What? I’ve had to wear a yellow ring for a mission one time, it’s not that big of a deal,” Hal had told him while pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

Barry could only smile, “I know.”

His least favorite was Blue, not that he was difficult to control, but because blue wasn’t his Hal. It was almost like the opposite. Blue Hal had conversations about stuff that Barry thought Hal wouldn’t think twice about. It was confusing and Barry had to fight not to yell at him and ask for his Hal back because he knew that wasn’t how this was going to work at all.

He couldn’t stand blue Hal, couldn’t stand the way he said “Hope is in everyone.” and reminded Barry to be patient when he was angry. He was used to the Hal that cheered him on when he was frustrated, who let him lay his legs across his lap while he vented about everything. He missed his Hal more than anything else. And he was sick and tired of the color game but there were only two more left.

Barry told himself he could stick it out for two more colors, he could. He took deep breaths on the morning that Hal told him he’d be going indigo. The bad part was there wasn’t any information on the indigo color, no one knew for sure what it was. It was going to be a surprise for both of them and he tried to keep it in mind when he waited for the color to take its grip on his boyfriend.

  
He walked out of his room that morning and caught Hal looking at himself in the mirror, and the changes were so fast that his voice caught in his throat.

Just from the mirror, he could see the stark, deep purple his boyfriend’s eyes were. But more than that they were almost doe-like, they were just so dark. There was an odd sense of calm about Hal too, not the calm way that the blue light had him... But more like a reserved sort of calm. The calm that strikes before a storm and wraps itself around everyone in the room. It was distant, borderline kind in a way Barry couldn’t describe.

“Hal..?” Barry didn’t get too close to him. He learned his lesson when Hal was red to not do that.

Hal turned around carefully and his eyes twinkled as he smiled, and Barry’s heart jumped into his chest.

“Kerok Lek, Luca?” Hal started and Barry’s heart dropped. What was this? He felt tricked, seriously felt tricked.

Barry chewed on his lip, “I.. Hal?”

“Ya?”

Okay, at least Hal got what his name was. That actually relieved him a little bit but he didn’t get why Hal wasn’t speaking English.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Hal made a little face, nose scrunching up slightly and he shrugged his shoulders, “Caca vakek, nek a tok?”

“I.. I don’t understand you? Hal, can you please speak English here? Is this some sort of game, now?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out so harsh but Hal flinched and suddenly Barry felt... Guilty.   
“Scopet,” Hal gestured towards the ring on his finger, a beautiful indigo color but it flashes a bright color and in seconds Hal’s holding a staff in his hands and he’s in uniform. It’s indigo and gray instead of green and black and the symbol on his chest doesn’t glow but... The staff does.

When the transformation is done Hal offers a bit of a look Barry’s way but he has no idea how to decipher it, not entirely. All he felt was a sort of anger bubbling up in his chest but he didn’t hide it.

“Goddammit, I’m so done with this,” Barry pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes, “I’m done! Okay? I’m calling the corps, this experiment is called off. For fuck’s sake..”

He looked up at Hal and Hal.. looked calm. That same eerie calm and he frowned a little.

“Nok, aan laca o.”

Barry wanted to scream, punch something, but not Hal. So he made himself turn and walk away from his boyfriend and just lock himself in their room. He needed time to breathe, and think. Of course, the color that the corps knew the least about didn’t speak English, but it looked like Hal at least understood what he was saying.

Away from Hal he regretted yelling at him, and he felt the shame rise up into his chest very steadily. It wasn’t Hal’s fault that the corps were subjecting him to this weird test. It also wasn’t his fault that he came out unable to speak English.

But he understood English, and a thought popped into his head. If Hal understood English, he’d probably easily relearn how to speak it. Now that, was an idea if he’d ever had a good one.

He took the time to collect himself, and pick up an app on his phone that would help in the same way flashcards would


End file.
